Who can join the political community?

People who live in democratic countries won’t all have the same rights. Children can’t vote, for example. Some long-term residents, who aren’t citizens, might be able to vote in local but not national elections. Illegal immigrants can’t vote at all. Then there are full citizens who live abroad - they might have some, but not necessarily the full set of political rights. David Edmonds speaks to Seyla Benhabib of Yale University about the nature of political membership.

Seyla Benhabib is Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Yale University, and was director of the program in Ethics, Politics, and Economics from 2002 to 2008. She is the author of several books, most notably about the philosophers Hannah Arendt and Jürgen Habermas. Benhabib is well known for combining critical theory with feminist theory.